Tuesday

I realized I haven't made a post in awhile just showing you guys what I've made recently.

Lately I've been obsessed with these coral, chevron and spike beads. When I sit down to make earrings, my hands go to those materials first. I'm going to be in a coral rut soon, lol.

Next purchase on my list: turquoise spikes !

I usually don't make the same earring twice, but for these I made an exception because I had some gold/black chain.

Actually, I lied, because I made doubles of these too because of the chain, haha. I have the same chain in pink but I have yet to think of any design using it.

I think I like the black chain more because of the contrast, but because my hair is so dark, I think the white pairs will look better on me.

These spikes are actually from a necklace I bought offline and then took apart. There are many different lengths; since these are long I thought they would be a good focal bead. The shorter ones I use as accents (as seen above).

I love the look of white, gold and blue.

I personally think gold looks better on me, so I tend to make more gold pieces. For this collection, I'm honestly using gold because the chain has gold in it. I wish there was white/silver or black/silver chain. I have yet to find any!

Monday

So here is the first of my 'WHAT DID I BUY TODAY' series, craft style.

Craft materials are my weakness. And shoes. And cameras. But those are different stories, lol. I can spend an hour browsing around a craft store. I'll stop in to buy one item, and come out with four. It's a serious problem...

Anyway, with these posts you guys can see what I buy, where I buy, and what prices I buy them at. Hopefully this will be inspirational and you'll be able to discover new items.

Saturday

Take the blunt part of your plier tool to press one end of the wire. Slip on your bead. The flat end will prevent the bead from falling off. WARNING: The end will probably be sharp.

Snip off excess wire and then close your loop. Repeat.

Using the jump ring, connect the wing and the chain. Close the loop. Put on your hook.

This is how you're going to add the beads. I used small 'spiral' patterns: one bead to the left, then to the front, then to the right, all in sections of three.

Voila, and you're finished.

Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to post!

- A

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My 'workspace' at my dining room table. I don't have a definite place where I work, I'm pretty nomadic really... any tabletop with a window. My backdrop for photographs is just two sheets of watercolor paper.

Monday

I recently bought a new bead case so I wanted to show you guys how I store my beads/what beads I have. This way, you can also see what you 'need' to start crafting. Essentially, all you really need is headpins, beads, and hooks for earrings.

Now to the container:

PROS: It's a pretty sturdy plastic case. The spaces are customizable; you just slip in the thick plastic tabs. The compartments are deep.

CONS: I can't really put the case on it's side because although the slides fit in pretty snug, there is still a chance that my smaller beads can slip around.

WOULD I RECOMMEND IT?: Honestly, if you wanted something that you could slip into your backpack, I wouldn't recommend it. I got it for a decent price, plus I'm willing to just carry it around holding it horizontal, so I'm fine with it. Although, if I had a choice of going back in time, I would probably buy something else.

There are four rows, and about 46 possible compartments. I split it up according to the amount of different beads I had, as you can see above. I needed more room for the blue and pink beads than the chevrons, etc.

Random small containers sit on top of the beads lying in the case. I kind of just stuff them wherever they will fit. No rhyme or rhythm.

These beads are the ones I have too little of to be stored in deep compartments. I use small plastic 'jars' and little containers where the top is attached.

As you can see I have a very limited color palette: blue & pink. Lately I've been adding a few metal pieces, but mostly I stick to those colors. I also just recently bought crimp beads so I don't have that many... can you believe that there are 60 pieces in that container right now? It doesn't look like much!

In the jars are mostly findings such as jump rings, connectors and hooks.

In this hair pin case I store decorative headpins: stars/balls/hearts etc. I also stuff in wire, lace, and findings that I get in the mail that I have no place for yet.

I don't have room for the long seed bead tubes, so I put them in this empty mint tin.

Now for the actual case. Excuse my crude drawing ♡

Thank you for viewing, if you have any questions or comments, please send them my way (:

Friday

On the piece of wire, 'thread' 6 beads. I'm using 3mm coral beads, but you can use whatever beads you want. They can be bigger (or smaller). Then add a 'focal' bead, I added a pearl. Add the remaining 6 3mm coral beads.

Time to make the 'drop' shape! Pull up to the two ends until the top beads meet each other. Then twist the wire twice. Stick one end straight up, and wrap the other one about three times around the base. Snip the remainder off. You'll be left with the one end sticking up.

Slide your bow bead down! Bend it to one side. Snip the remainder.

Using your pliers, grip the END and then roll it in to create the loop. Do not close it. You need to add your hook.